Inspired by a true story, WHEN THE GAME STANDS TALL tells the remarkable journey of legendary football coach Bob Ladouceur (Jim Caviezel), who took the De La Salle High School Spartans from obscurity to a 151-game winning streak that… MoreInspired by a true story, WHEN THE GAME STANDS TALL tells the remarkable journey of legendary football coach Bob Ladouceur (Jim Caviezel), who took the De La Salle High School Spartans from obscurity to a 151-game winning streak that shattered all records for any American sport. When the streak is broken, and tragedy strikes the team, Coach Lad must teach his players - and the entire town - that it's not about how you fall, but how you get back up. (C) Warner Bros

Mixes bland dialogue, formulaic sports-movie plot points, and vague Christian teachings with some disturbingly naïve racial overtones. The story risks inducing concussion as it pounds and thumps its message home, over and over.

We've seen the 'Full eyes, clear hearts, can't lose' ethic before on screen, and more winningly dramatized, but When the Game Stands Tall does a good, and family-friendly, job of encapsulating Ladouceur's 'winning' approach...

High school football can be described as a religion in many parts of America. Sappily melodramatic When the Game Stands Tall skips the middle man and blends both in a weak-willed, clichéd biopic of California coach Bob Ladouceur.